


Rage Against the Dying Light

by JennInWonderland



Category: American Gods (TV), American Gods - Neil Gaiman
Genre: Bar fights, Classic movie references, F/M, Omg how did this end up so raunchy, Oral Sex, Porn With Plot, Porn with Feelings, Smut, Unprotected Sex, Vaginal Sex, happy endings all around, madwife, what should have happened in New Orleans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-18
Updated: 2019-12-12
Packaged: 2020-09-06 09:57:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 20,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20289583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JennInWonderland/pseuds/JennInWonderland
Summary: How things could have went in New Orleans...Except:Laura had had plenty of morning afters in her 27 years of life but waking up with her tits out, alone, on a table in Le Coq Noir is by far the strangest and most memorable.  As she sits up she begins to button up her top and try to piece the whole strange night back together.  She knew that she hadn't been drunk or high the night before but every part of the previous night is muddled by what she guesses is a magic-related fog, even though 2 weeks ago she hadn't believed in magic...or gods for that matter.  She's still not sure about it all but she's definitely much more inclined to be open-minded since a leprechaun's lucky coin started being the only thing keeping her alive.





	1. Morning After

Laura had had plenty of morning afters in her 27 years of life but waking up with her tits out, alone, on a table in Le Coq Noir is by far the strangest and most memorable. As she sits up she begins to button up her top and try to piece the whole strange night back together. She knew that she hadn't been drunk or high the night before but every part of the previous night is muddled by what she guesses is a magic-related fog, even though 2 weeks ago she hadn't believed in magic...or gods for that matter. She's still not sure about it all but she's definately much more inclined to be open-minded since a leprechaun's lucky coin started being the only thing keeping her alive.

She remembers catching up to Mad Sweeney by St. Jude's statue, passed out of course. For all his bullshit and bluster he did actually seem happy to see her. And if she's being honest with herself, which she rarely is, she was happy to see him too. Although she's sure neither of them would admit it out loud, least of all her-their mutual hatred has somehow morphed into a reluctant frendship during their travels. Sometimes she catches him watching her with a look in his eyes that would have forced some color into her cheeks if she wasn't a dead girl.

Laura shakes her head to clear her thoughs once she's buttoned up and off the table. Okay-so she found Mad Sweeney and they'd came to this bar? Restaurant? She honestly has no clue but she remembers meeting the Baron and his girlfriend/wife/partner Bridgette-she remembers tasting food and feeling things again-feeling Sweeney's heavy gaze focused in on her as she actually FELT the air on her skin for the first time in weeks. Nothing had ever felt better and she felt almost alive.

The memory of the Baron handing her her resurrection potion and sliding his hands up her dress were suddenly very vivid and not all that surprising. She'd always been shitty at self control when she was alive, no reason to think that would change once she was dead. 

Laura turns toward the sound of the front door slamming and sees Mad Sweeney half stumble in, looking as unsure of himself as she's ever seen him-maybe even bashful. 

"Hey," he says, barely making eye contact with her, his hand scratching at the back of his neck in a nervous gesture she's come to recognize. When he's unsure of what to say or he thinks shit is about to hit the fan he does that but why... OH SHIT! 

The rest of the night flies before her eyes-she remembers the thick red fog tickling her almost living skin. Sweeney's face in front of her-just as shocked as hers-she remembers seeing how badly he wanted her, feeling how hard he was for her, and the look on his face when she FINALLY rocked her hips down on him. In her memory she feels him filling her deeper than the Baron, or even Shadow could ever reach. She remembers his hands on her hips, supporting her when she needed it and gripping her tight enough to bruise her skin if she had been alive. The sound of drums is a constant in the background so she can't make out any of the words Sweeney is saying but she can hear the deep gutteral groans that she pulls out of him, almost like he is in pain but she knows thats far from the case. She feels his cock throbbing inside her tight inner walls and knows he's close, she's close too. She wants them to get there before whatever spell they are in fades to black. She remembers the way she gripped his hair and started grinding down in fast circles all the way down to the base of him. It hurts so good she can hardly stand it and as she grinds her clit against the thatch of ginger hair at his groin she sees stars. Sweeney wraps his arms around her small body and pulls her as close as possible, chest to chest. She feels him panting against her neck and it makes her whole body shiver. He's groaning out words she doesn't understand at all, probably not english, as he orgasms deep inside of her. When she was alive she'd never let anyone cum inside of her without protection. As a dead girl she's all for it. His seed is scorching hot inside of her, like the sun itself. It feels amazing, like it's warming her up from the inside out. The last thing she feels other then warmth is him dropping kisses along her neck, then things fade out. The edges are still blurry but she's startled at how clear some of the details are to her now that they are flowing through her mind. 

"I 100% expected you to smell like shit, and whiskey," she says by way of greeting him, "I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised." Laura isn't sure who is more surprised by the very specific semi-compliment, her or Sweeney. 

"Well be still my fuckin heart! Was that meant as a compliment Dead Wife," when Sweeney snarks at her she can't help but to notice the rare genuine smile on his face-and she doesn't want to think about when she started knowing the difference between his real smiles and the sarcastic ones he passed around the majority of the time. He looks relieved that her first words to him are friendly and not an attack. She wants to be offended but there's something soft around the edges of this morning-something soft around his edges-that she doesn't want to examine but she doesn't want to ruin either. 

"And what is it you're smelling on me, if not shite," he asks her, sounding curious. She takes the dozen or so steps seperating the two of them and pushes up on her tiptoes, getting herself as close to him as she can. He stooped down the rest of the way so that they met half way. She tucked her nose into the juncture of his shoulder and neck and took a few deep inhalations through her nose. The thought to kiss him there crossed her mind but she quickly dismissed it-unsure of when SHE started having thoughts like that about the surly leprechaun. She was not surprised when she could barely pick up his scent anymore, she had figured the previous night's abilities had been temporary but that doesn't meant she wasn't extremely disappointed. 

"I can't smell anything anymore, not really...but last night you smelled like...." Laura can't finish her words, she feels embarassed by the thoughts that had come to her the night before while they were joined together. She feels like she is showing him too much of her hand. Laura looks up into his bourbon colored eyes and believes for the first time that he may actually be centuries old, or even thousands of years old. She wants to deny and dismiss what she'd felt the night before but for once Laura Moon, previouisly Laura McCabe is honest and straight forward about things.

"When I was a kid...before my parents split up and my dad moved on to a new family, I was close to him. He would take me for hikes in the forest around our house. After he left us I stopped doing that, stopped doing most things actually... anyway, last night you smelled like the forest and just nature, I guess. I really liked that,"she says softly. It's the most honest she has been with anyone, possibly ever. She doesn't really talk about the things that hurt her in the past because she has always felt like it's just ammo to hurt her in the future. She doesn't feel like that this morning, she doesn't feel like that with him anymore. He cups her pale cheeks in his large warm hands and she doesn't pull away, she lets his warmth seep into the cold that encompasses her. He's smiling at her, the real one-and she's glad to be the reason for it. 

"That's the nicest thing said about me in decades Dead Wife. I can hardly believe it's you saying it," he's dropped the grin but she can tell it's still there right under the surface. She can't help but to raise to his bait. She takes a small step back so that she can meet his eye a little easier.

"Don't get too fucking excited there Gingerbread man. I was absolutely right about the whiskey part. Is that what you meant when you said 'Irish sexy' back at Easter's bunny ranch," she almost manages to keep a straight face until he literally snorts at her comments. He's shaking his head when she looks back at him, but he caught the sarcasm, she knows. They speak the same language, something that she has appreciated from the very beginning with him. 

"Let's not us get started on which of us smells better on any given day," the leprechaun says without any real spite at all, swatting at a fly that Laura refuses to admit has anything to do with her. Her mood takes a sharp turn for the worse at the reminder of her present situation. The previous evening had only reminded her of the pleasures of living-plesaures she hadn't truely appreciated for what they were before her untimely death. 

"I'm fucked Sweeney, and not in the good way either," she says, feeling completely defeated. Her husband clearly doesn't love her anymore, not that she can blame him. She can't imagine showing up to her mother's home in this condition, asking for her blood no less. She doubts her mother's blood would do the job anyway. 

The weight of his massive hands on her shoulders surprises an unnecessary puff of air out of her. She finds herself leaning her head to rest her cheek against his hand. They both hold the moment, neither of them saying anything mean or shitty to each other...just letting the moment be. Of course he's the first to break the silence. 

"Why's that then, Dead Wife," Sweeney asks her. He kept his tone light, like he didn't care about the answer- but she feels like she can see concern in his honey-brown eyes and in the tilt of his brow. His casual tone was clearly forced to her now trained ears.

Laura reached into the pocket of her worn floral dress and pulled out the tiny glass vial holding her future. She didn't even try to keep it from him when he reached out and pulled it close to his face for a good look at the Baron's work.

"So why's it still here and not in there," he motions to her gut. He knows it can't be that simple-nothing is ever simple with the Loa. 

"It's missing the most important ingredient-two drops of blood from someone who loves ME," she winces at just how hopeless it sounds put out loud like that, "I'm definately going to DIE die." Laura feels the little energy she has draining from her body as the hopeless feeling inside her sets in and takes root.

"Oh come on! You can't just fuckin give up like that Dead Wife. I thought we were gonna save somebody-you!" The red head places his free hand back on her shoulder and gives her a half hearted shake. Her first instinct is to shove him through the closest wall but her next instinct is to lean into his very solid bulk in front of her and just let him take the weight for a minute.

"If it's just two drops of blood you need, I can manage that and more," he says barely above a whisper against the top of her head. Her unnessary breath catches in her throat at his obvious meaning. She knew he wasn't a stupid man and knew he paid attention to the important stuff. She knew what he was admitting without using the words. Laura didn't know what to do with all the new knowledge but she was also aware of the fact that she should be feeling more, she wanted to feel more. It was like death kept her mind and her heart too foggy for emotions to fully come through. The one feeling that came through clear for the first time in weeks was hope. 

"You love me Ginger Minge," she asked, trying to take a little bit of the gravity out of the moment. She watches his nostrils flare and she knew she'd been successful at poking the bear. She knew his confession was making him feel weak and she also knew that Sweeny loved to be mad so she gave him the opportunity when he needed it.

"Stop fucking calling me that and don't make me say it out loud for fucks sake," he snapped, though without his regular heat, "now let's find somewhere to settle for the night so we can figure the rest of this shit out." He gives the vial a gentle shake before sending it to the hoard for safe keeping. Laura shoots him a look that has him quickly pulling the vial from thin air and offering it back to her.

"No offense intended love. I know it's yours and I've no claim to it. I just wanted to keep it safe and there's no place safer," he explains without any of his usual snark. She felt a bit silly for her reaction considering he had nothing to gain from taking it from her-old habits die hard though, even when you are dead yourself.

"Keep it-you're right. Let's get out of her," she starts walking toward the door of the Coq Noir and out into the sunshine. She doesn't have to look back to know he's behind her. He's got her back for whatever comes next.


	2. Hellfire and Bathtubs

*Flash Forward 8 hours*

Laura's lungs BURN like hellfire as she sucks in a huge gasp of air and immediately starts coughing and gagging on it. She feels herself being scooped up and very gently placed back down on the tile floor of a dingy bathroom. She only acknowledges this fact because there is a toilet right in front of her. She vomits up all the disgusting muck that has gathered in her innards during her time as a reanimated corpse. She can feel Sweeney's hand holding her hair back from her face, and she's thankful for it. 

"It's alright, just let it all out love," he speaks in a tone gentler than she ever would have thought him capable of. He's rubbing small swirls across her back through the spasms and she appreciates the distraction, although she can't tell him that at the moment. Thankfully he seems to understand because he doesn't stop until her body finally feels completely empty, MORE than empty, and she starts to collapse to the floor. Sweeney is faster than gravity it seems. His long arm is around her midsection before she connects with the tile.

Laura has always known she was a small woman-it's been both a blessing and a curse...but she's never felt quite so little as she does at this moment. Sweeney is holding her against his body with one arm, like she's a toddler who'd just hurt herself or needed love before bedtime. She felt ridiculous but also she felt cherished for the 1st time in her life. Every relationship in her life has always felt forced until this thing with Sweeney. They grew to love each other despite their best efforts to the contrary. The two of them have literally seen each other at their absolute worse but here they are...together again...together still. It should be easy for him to put her down, grab the coin that she saw glittering amongst the disgusting mess that had left her body moments ago, and hit the fucking road but he hasn't and he won't. She knew that he must actually love her-her gasping for air now is proof enough of that. She just doesn't understand why...but right now she didn't have the strength to question it. 

Sweeney moves around the bathroom with her against his chest. He seems anxious but also like he is desperately trying to keep it together for her benefit. He turns the taps of the tub on. It looks like it has seen better days but it's clean enough considering the filth that will probably be coming off of her once she is in the water. She realizes she has been drifting around in her own thoughts when he lowers her delicately down onto the lip of the tub. She is so sore she can hardly move but it just feels so fucking good to feel anything at all. 

"We've to get you out of these clothes unless you want to bathe in them," his hands are shaking a little bit as he reaches for the tiny plastic button at the top of her grungy floral dress. She lifts her head enough so that he knows she is giving him permission to continue. He makes fairly quick work of the first couple buttons and then just slides the dress down over her boney shoulders into a puddle around her hips. They both know as soon as he stands her up the dress will do the rest of the work for them. There are so many things she wants to say, thank you, I love you too, what is this...but she just can't get any of that out. Instead she wraps her arms around his thick neck and he just naturally knows what to do from there. He has her up on her unsteady feet in seconds and he is down on his knees sliding her panties down her legs to the floor. She looks at him and notices that he is looking down at her feet and not at her naked body. His hands are trembling so bad she can feel it now. When his eyes finally meet hers they both laugh, not because the situation is actually funny but because the intimacy of it is so far out of both their comfort zones that they don't know what else to do.

Once the tub is filled about halfway he sticks his arm in to check the temperature and then helps her slide into the hot water. A low moan escapes her throat at the feel of the water surrounding her cold skin. Her blood is pumping in her veins again but she still hasn't been able to shake the cold and the water starts helping with that immediately. She'd forgotten how much she enjoyed relaxing in the bathtub, though it was a shame there weren't any bubbles. She must have said as much because Sweeney's voice filled up the space between them.

"Oh for fucks sake Laura! Can't a man just bask in the glory of bringing your stinkin' corpse back from the undead without you complaining for two fucking seconds. Always so selfish," Sweeney snaps, all bluster and no bite. She could hear his fondness for her dripping from his words and she found him adorable despite herself. She's so distracted by her surprising reaction to him that she almost forgets to be shocked by the use of her actual name. Before she has time to react to the shock she notices him moving around the room again, making his way over to the mess she doesn't even want to think about, in the toilet. He doesn't seem fazed at all when he holds his hand out over the bowl and between one blink and the next his coin was in his palm. He chuckles at the disgusted sound Laura makes behind him. He flushes the toilet before heading to the sink.

"It'll take more than some maggoty vomit to keep me away from what's mine," he says while rinsing his hands and the coin off, then he sends it back to it's home in the hoard. She can tell he is going for a light-hearted tone but there is definitely possessiveness to the words and she wonders if he is only talking about the coin or if he is thinking about her as well. He turns toward her and rolls his head back on his shoulders loosely. His face is toward the ceiling but she can tell his eyes are closed. If she didn't know any better his body language and slow shuddering breaths would tell her he was getting a good blowjob but clearly that isn't the case.

"You have no idea how good this feels," he groans out before looking back at her, "I feel fuckin' amazing." His eyes have taken on a more golden hue, like they are lit up from the inside and his color is better then she'd ever seen it, his hair so bright it seems kissed by fire. He looks good, really good actually-not that she'd tell him that. She'd never known him when he'd had his coin so she hadn't realized just how much of him was missing without it...how much he had given to her.

He catches her staring, of course he does, and the grin that sweeps across his face is probably the most charming thing she's ever seen. In that moment she finally understands the phrase 'roguishly handsome' and thinks that if she was describing the big ginger asshole to someone she would definately use it, as long as he was nowhere around to hear her say it. 

"I'm going to get you something to eat and a fuckin' toothbrush for sure. Need anything else," Sweeney asks, his long frame having to duck down to lean against the inside of the doorway. He should look awkward doing it but he somehow doesn't. Part of her wants to be a bitch because that's what she's always been best at but she was enjoying this less asshole-ish version of the leprechaun and it made her want to try to be a less asshole-ish version of Laura...to him at least. 

"That'd be really nice Sweeney, thank you. Anything is fine with me, but for the love of god please get me some mouthwash," she laughed without any strength, "I've never wanted to brush my teeth more in my entire life." She laughs a bit harder at the face he pulls when he considers that. 

"Oh I imagine so judging by the mess that was all over my coin," he tosses back at her as he turns to walk out, "Be back soon love. Please don't fall sleep in there and drown. I'll not be giving my coin back to ya if you do." The words had scarcely reached her ears when she heard the hotel room door shut.

Laura leaned her head back against the lip of the tub and let her eyes drift shut with a smile on her face. Somehow she was sure that he would give it back to her if he needed to-though for both their sakes she hoped it wouldn't ever be necessary.


	3. What's In A Name

The sound of the hotel door slamming shut woke her. She hadn't meant to fall asleep but like so much of her life lately-it just kinda happened and she went along with it. She'd forgotten how much she enjoyed sleeping. The water was well on it's way to being cold at this point so she pulled the plug and waited for the water to dwindle down to near nothing before dragging herself to her feet. She didn't realize Sweeney had entered the bathroom until he had already reached his hand out to help her climb over the tub wall. He was surprisingly quiet for a man his size when he wanted to be.

Laura wanted to push his hand away and deny needing any help but they both knew she was as weak as a new born fawn and her legs were shaking so bad her boney knees were nearly knocking together.

"Don't worry, your body is probably in shock from the past couple weeks. Once we get some food in ya and we get you tucked in for a good night's sleep you'll be right as rain love," Mad Sweeney sounds to be in a good mood as he helps her wrap a white hotel towel around her shoulders and dries her hair for her with another one. She sees a new toothbrush, toothpaste, and the requested mouthwash sitting on the sink and as soon as Sweeney tosses the towel he'd been using on her aside she grabs the new items and gets to work on her dental hygeine routine. She notices the red head watching her with an odd sort of smile on his face.

"What," she huffs, annoyed, toothbrush sticking out of her mouth. He laughs and rolls his eyes at her, used to her temper by now. 

"Nothin, just good to see you breathing is all," he tells her, never dropping the odd half grin. He holds up his palms in mock surrender as he drifts back into the bedroom. "I'll leave you be." She isn't quite sure how to respond to this softer side of Sweeney. She doesn't know if it's the fact that she's alive now or just that his coin is back and his luck has returned, but the rough exterior he showed to her for so long seems to have fallen away a bit. 

Laura's nose is greeted by the smell of something delicious when she walks into the bedroom, still in nothing but the hotel towel. She knew she was hungry but she didn't expect for her now living body's reaction when it was finally confronted with the smell of something edible. Her mouth started watering immediately and within seconds her stomach is making it's interest known with an embarassingly loud rumble. Sweeney laughed from the corner of the room.

"Have at it love, it's yours. Smells like absolute shite to me but I know you like it." 

Once, while on the road with the leprechaun and Salim-not-Salim she had mentioned that before she was a dead girl her favorite food was basically anything Chinese. Apparently he had actually been listening from his perch in the backseat of the battered taxi because when she opens the lid of the take out tray on the table the aroma of sweet and sour chicken takes over the whole room. She couldn't believe how flattered she was that Sweeney had remembered what she thought was just a disposable bit of small talk that wasn't even directed at him.

She felt like she had died and actually went to heaven as the first bite hit her newly awoken taste buds. "Oh my god Sweeney, this is so goood," she moans around a mouthful. His eyebrows shoot up an extra inch or two as he gives her a look she doesn't quite know how to interpret but he's still got that grin on his face so it can't be too bad. 

"Glad I could be of assistance, " he says with humor, giving a theatric bow as he makes his way over to the only bed in the room. He flops down harder than he needs to and even does a little half bounce before settling down on what seems to be a fairly firm mattress judging by how little give it has. He watches her shoveling bite after bite into her mouth, not actually surprised that she was a bit of a glutton considering her personality. "You may want to slow down a bit unless you want all that to come right back up." Laura looks down at her food she can't believe she's already eatten most of it. She feels like she could eat the whole plate and then some but she knows he's probably right. She gives a quick nod and puts the lid on her food to save the rest for later, after what she knows will be a long long longggg nap.

She looks at Sweeney stretched out across the bed, looking as self-satisfied as the cat that ate the canary and got away with it. He has one arm bent behind his head in addition to the thin bit of stuffing that is passing as a pillow, and the other arm is draped across his stomach. There's not a whole lot of bed left but she knows there's plenty of room for her. Mad Sweeney points at the bag on the dresser she hadn't noticed when she initally exited the bathroom. When she looks in it she finds a pack of simple boyshort underwear, a pair of black leggings, and a jean dress that looks like it'll fit her. At first she's impressed with how well he'd done picking out clothes for her, even getting the sizes right but then she has a fleeting moment of jealousy wondering at women in his past and if she's the first woman he's went shopping for or not. She quickly shakes the thoughts from her head, knowing it's ridiculous to be jealous of his former lovers considering he's been alive for centuries, at the very least. 

She pulled out a pair of panties and put them on under her towel before dropping it to the floor. Instead of putting on the jean dress, she picked up Sweeney's green button down he'd gotten from the young man outside Le Coq Noir and slid it over her tiny frame. His shirt swallowed her, coming down past her knees with the sleeves hanging far past her hands as they flopped down to her sides. She had been expecting it and it was perfect for the time being-loose, comfy, and she could smell the woods and whiskey aroma of him all around her. She reached to button up the shirt but stopped when she heard what she knew was an unconscious noise slip out of Sweeney on the bed. When she looked at him she saw possessiveness written as plain and clear on his face as any emotion had ever been, but he wasn't just looking at his shirt-it was the look of her IN his shirt that had him growling in pleasure. Laura felt that surprising new emotion again from earlier in the day...the emotion that was quickly becoming her favorite. She felt cherished. 

"Come to bed with me Laura," Sweeney said softly-his voice came out rough like it'd tried to catch in his throat and she could see a shimmer in his eyes that she knew may be tears but didn't dare say out loud. She knew that the past weeks had taken a huge toll on the tall man laying on the bed in front of her, just like it had taken it's toll on her. She may have been the dead one but he had been her murderer. She didn't really know his story but she had a feeling that cold blooded murder had been new for him and she could see that he hated himself for what he did to her, even if he did think she was sometimes a cunt. She made her way across the room and pulled herself into the bed beside him. Her nerves almost got the better of her but she took a deep breath and got on with it. 

"You keep calling me that...my name, " she says after letting the silence sit between them for a moment, "I've been Dead Wife since the day you kicked my hotel room door in. Why the change?" Hearing her name come from his mouth felt strange to her, it hardly felt like her name when he was the one saying it. She knew it was something she could definately get used to, and it made her heart beat faster every time she heard it. He's watching her silently as she plays with a piece of string that is barely holding the bottom button on his shirt, too unsure of herself or of them to look him in the eyes just yet. The button will probably not make it another day but she knows that doesn't matter right now. What matters is Sweeney is being too quiet and that's unsual. 

When she looks back at the firey haired giant beside her she's not completely surprised to see just how soft his eyes are while he's looking at her. His expressions have always been hard for her to read. They were always layered with so many things and were so complicated he hardly knew what he was thinking most of the time, let alone her. It had been impossible when she was a corpse, not that she had cared very much at the time so she hadn't paid it much attention. As she looks at him now though, she sees so many things-guilt was always there in his eyes when he looked at her, and a grief she knew she'd never fully understand. As she looked at him now though, she was sure she saw relief, and love, and maybe even a little bit of happiness. She sees him thinking, sees him figuring out the things he wants to say before he opens his mouth to say them and that's new. Up to this point in their relationship he just shot out whatever ran through his mind and be damned the consequences. She was quickly realizing that Mad Sweeney with his coin and without were more then a little different. 

"I've watched you die three times now by my count, little Laura Moon. Once in a crash between an ice cream truck and a fucking rabbit, and twice by my hand," he's unusually serious as he says this. He has scooted up in the bed, sitting up with his back against the head board and he's looking her straight in the eyes. It's hard for her to meet his gaze because it feels like he's looking into her soul but she does as he says, "The night I ran you and that cunt off the road was the worst night in all my years of living, over 2000 years as best I can count on a good day. I'm not evil, I'm not! But that act was an evil act, one I'll never be able to forgive myself for. I knew it was wrong when I did it but I was desperate and I lost myself and all the things that make me ME. That's why I lost my coin to your damned dark eyed husband. The wind blows both ways and it was blowing against me that night at Crocodile Jack's because I willed it too." Sweeney's voice has raised a couple octaves and his voice is taking on a manic tone that has him earning his nickname. She's slightly nervous that if they have any neighbors they may be having a complaint called in to the front desk, but she doesn't really give a shit and she's knows he doesn't either so she doesn't interrupt him as he continues on. She always knew he was a talker but she's surprised that he actually has a way with words once he starts going on about something other then what a cunt her and Wednesday are or about his anticipation of his coin falling from inside her decaying innards.

"The second time I watched you die by my hand was right here in this room. You don't remember what happened once we added my blood to that potion from the baron and you drank it but I do," he sits quietly for just a moment, looking at his hands, "You died again. You went fuckin still, dead still and dead quiet and you stayed that way for fuckin hours. I sat here for 4 hours looking at your corpse wondering what the fuck I was gonna do now. I couldn't take my coin just in case it was keeping you going and I just didn't know it." The silence this time goes on so long that she thinks maybe he is done. 

"You're not dead anymore Laura Moon, and you're definately not anybody's wife-til death do you part-so...you ain't Dead Wife to me anymore," he breaks the silence but only just barely, his voice only just above a whisper. He slides back down in the bed and extends out his arm in an obvious invitation for her to lay down against him. She doesn't waste a moment-she's freezing and exhausted and overwhelmed and he looks warm and comfortable and comforting. She rests her head on his wide chest and he immediately wraps his arm tightly around her. She listens to the beat of his heart and rides the subtle up and down motion of his breathing as she lets herself relax and drift off.

"I love you Laura," he whispers into her hair when he thinks she's fallen asleep. He places a soft kiss on the crown of her head, meaning not to disturb her but as with everything with them it doesn't quite go as planned.

"I love you too, ya Cunt," she grins up at him with groggy half seeing eyes. He smiles back down at her and shakes his head, annoyance and adoration both clear for her to see.

"Oh fuck off and go to sleep ya hateful wench," he teases her. She knows there's no real spite behind his words though and she leans up to place a soft kiss to the corner of his mouth, putting her head back on his chest before he has a chance to reciprocate.

"Good night Sweeney," she whispers into his chest, burying her face in the fabric of his white tank top. "Good night Laura," he breathes into her hair. 

The next time he confesses his love to her it's in old Gaelic but she's already asleep and quite possibly drooling on him.


	4. Rise With The Sun

Sweeney barely moved at all that night. He'd dozed off and on but everytime Laura moved against him or made a sound he snapped back awake. The short bouts of rest he had gotten that night were more peaceful then any he'd had in centuries.

It had been fairly late in the night when Laura and him had finally gotten settled into bed but once the sun came up he was finished with sleep. The rays of the sun made his blood sing in his veins-better than any cup of coffee or drug in the whole world. It'd always been that way, though he doesn't always remember why. He had forgotten how little sleep he actually needed when he wasn't passed out on whiskey. He hadn't went without a drink for this long since he could remember, but he wasn't missing it like he thought he might

Just because he was awake didn't mean he was out of bed. He stays tucked underneath the tiny woman with the heart of a lion and the mouth of a sailor. He wants a smoke and he's got to piss like nobody's business but he just can't bring himself to disturb her just yet. He watches her face while she sleeps, wondering what she's dreaming of, wondering if she can even still dream after everything she's seen and been through. The mind is a complicated piece of equipment, he knows that better than most. 

Sweeney's not sure when his feelings for the wee woman solidified into death-defying love but from the moment he first laid eyes on Laura Moon his heart and mind had been an even more jumbled mess than normal. It couldn't be a coincidence that she wore young Essie's face and shared a kindred spirit, independent and a bit rough around the edges. There was no blood shared between the two women, that he was sure. He could sense the blood of one of his true believers, the one's that brought him across the ocean, even buried generations deep in a relative that believed in nothing. There was no MacGowan blood in Laura McCabe Moon. 

He didn't fool himself-he'd given that up long ago. He knew this surprising but intense love he felt for her wouldn't fix everything. He knew the two of them would probably have more bad days than good, even with his luck back where it belonged. He knew she was a selfish cunt sometimes but he didn't hold it against her because he was sometimes, too. They were two imperfect people that didn't always bring out the best in each other, but they knew there was good in eachother and sometimes that's all you need when the whole world is telling you something different. He didn't know if it stemmed from guilt or reminiscence but something about her had forced him to take time to look past the woman's barbed exterior and see the scared girl buried under everyhing else. He knew the two of them had more in common than met the eye. They both buried their true selves under layers of snark and bluster but they both hid a very soft underbelly.

He takes a hand and very gently moves the hair off of her face. He's careful not to disturb her but it's as if she can feel him looking at her and thinking too hard because within a handful of moments her hazel eyes meet his brown ones and she smiles and rolls her eyes at him simultaneously. His heart aches with all the things he feels for her. Sweeney wants to keep her in this rinky-dink hotel room in the middle of Bumfukt, Nowhere for the rest of eternity, just the two of them-Wednesday's war, the rest of the Old Gods, old debts-all of it be damned. It's been a very long time since Buile Suibhne wanted to be a better man, but Laura makes him want to try. More then anything else, he wants to keep her tiny fragile human heart beating for as long as possible because he doesn't know what he'll do when it stops the next time-be that 60 minutes, 60 months, or 60 years from now. 

"I knew you could be creepy but this is fucking ridiculous. Have you been starting at me ALL night or did my spidey-senses kick in pretty fast,"she smirks at him, her voice sounding dry and probably sore. He reaches for a bottle of water on the nightstand and hands it to her without being asked. He used to know how to be gentleman, it comes back to him in pieces every now and then.

"Aye, I am creepy love, but what the fuck does Nancy-boy have to do with anything," he looks so honestly confused that Laura can't help but to chuckle. She takes a long drag from the bottle of water and puts the lid on before tossing it back on the bed. She just doesn't see the worth in trying to explain to a centuries old leprechaun what Spider Man is or that he has nothing to do with Anansi, especially first thing in the morning.

"I can't even try to explain it this early," she replies weakly, hoping he will let it drop...which he does. Laura snuggles her face into Sweeney's chest and slides her cold hands under his tanktop, which had come untucked from his pants at some point in the night. She found herself enjoying it more everytime she allows herself to take comfort in him. 

His hand is drawing spirals along her back again and it tickles but it's giving her goosebumps under his too big shirt and she's kinda loving it. His hand feels huge against her body now, even though it's the same size it's always been. Being alive again has changed so many things about the way she feels around him. The heat that pumps out of him like a furnace is addicting to her-someone who'd been extremely cold-natured her entire life. Shadow ran warm too, but not hot like Sweeney. He'd always complained that she felt like a block of ice when she tucked her feet under him on the couch during movie nights or slid her hands under his shirt to warm them up. Sweeney hisses right when her cold hands touch his stomach but then his free hand covers hers and he's trying to rub warmth into them. It's all just too good and Laura can't handle all the emotions that are coming up all at once so she just DOESN'T. She pushes herself up and rolls off of the red head to sit up and slowly starts the process of getting out of bed. 

"Thank fuck! I've been on the verge of pissing meself for hours now while Your Highness slept the day away," he says as he jumps out of bed and hauls ass to the bathroom. He can't help the loud moan he lets out as he FINALLY relieves his aching bladder.

He hears Laura shuffle into the bathroom as he zips up and flushes the toilet. She's brushing her teeth when he turns back around. She never did button his shirt last night so he can see her small perky breasts with the way she is leaned forward against the sink and it makes his mouth water. He knows she can feel him looking at her, knows his gaze carries weight. Their eyes meet in the mirror and he sees the edge of her mouth turn up in a smirk around her toothbrush. 

"Turn on the shower for me please-HOT," she orders after she spits and drops the shirt to the bathroom floor, "and GET IN."

She's always liked seeing what she could get her boyfriends to do for her if she asked, and she's always loved getting her way. Laura had realized early on that Sweeney's annoyance at being told what to do was always VERY obvious, and more often than not, very vocal. She had also realized that she enjoyed it, especially when just a few moments later he would relent, almost always and do exactly as she asked...or rather, demanded.

He's not sure if he should be turned on because there's a possibility he may get some shower sex or offended because she's ordering him around...either way, he strips down, naked as he was during his years in the trees and did as he was told without talking back for once. Blessedly, he only had a moment to ponder as steaming water pounded his back before the beautifully alive woman climbed into the shower in front of him.

"Kiss me, Lucky Charms," she says, another order. For most of his life Sweeny has bucked authority every chance he got, Grimnir excluded and that was only because there was a debt owed. For the second time this morning he does as he's told without a bit of snark. Laura has a way of finding the small part of him that liked it and exploiting it to the fullest.

When their lips really meet for the first time it feels like lightening in his chest. Laura is up on her toes to meet him part way. One of her hands is on his shoulder and the other is on his cheek but he feels her touch all the way down in his heart. He doesn't even notice the whimper that escapes his throat when he wraps his arms around her tiny waist and pulls her as close as their differences in height will allow. By the time he considers them ALMOST close enough her feet aren't even touching the ground anymore, they are just dangling like a ragdoll below her. She allows the bear-hug for a moment before she wraps her legs around his midsection and pulls herself up against the solid wall of muscle, confident he can hold her now that his luck is back intact.

Up to this point their kisses had been fairly chaste, their lips just brushing together and sharing eachother's air. It was the closeness Sweeney had craved first, the feeling of her LIVING skin against his own. Now that her legs were around him and she's biting down on his bottom lip just the right side of too hard he's craving a different kind of closeness. Laura's tired of waiting and starts grinding against his cock, which is trapped between their wet bodies and it's too much and not enough. He grabs her ass with both hands and turns so that the shower's steaming stream is at her back. She hisses at the initial contact and pulls herself closer against him-if possible-but she quickly relaxes again into the heat.

He's licking into her mouth now, chasing the taste of her. She pulls back just enough to snap her teeth at his tongue. It was a bluff but he doesn't have to know that. He growls at her and goes in for another kiss anyway. She should have known he wouldn't be scared away by the threat of violence. He's thrusting against her core in time with her grinding and the head of his cock keeps kissing her clit when they move together just right. She's panting against his mouth and everything just seems lit up from the inside. As the intensity of their movements built Laura's nails are digging into him much like they did that night in New Orleans, her fingers pulling at his hair.

It's a strange feeling-knowing a person's body intimately and simultaneously touching them for the first time. The steam in the shower has gotten thick. They can see each other but they'd be hard pressed to see anything else. Laura's wet cunt is moving against his cock just right when he gets a sudden sense of deja vu so strong he freezes in his spot and grips her hips tight enough that she has no choice but to stop moving as well. Sweeney shakes his head a couple times tryng to shake the feeling. Deja vu is a dangerous thing for people whose grip on reality-past and present-is as tenuous as Mad Sweeney's. He could feel himself starting to slip down the rabbit hole.

"Wait," he shouts, more to himself than anyone else. Laura moves her hands to his face and forces him to look at her. He was a bit wild eyed but she can see he was getting it together. "What's wrong Sweeney, talk to me," she says softly, maintaining eye contact.

"It's alright love, but we gotta get out of all this fucking fog," he says firmly, leaving no room for argument.


	5. Pot of Gold

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so just be warned, the smut got pretty raunchy. It definitely earns it's explicit rating so just be warned and hope you like it. These two idiots sure did lol :P

He never loses his grip on her ass as he throws the shower curtain back and steps out of the shower. He's a totally different man from the one whose luck had been so bad he'd wrecked a car and burned up a boat because they both make it to the bed dripping wet and without a single injury. She squeals when he drops her onto the extra firm bed but is laughing by the time she finishes the half bounce that comes with the mattress. She moves herself up the bed and he's climbing up right behind her, looking every bit the predator on a hunt.

He stops when he's at the apex of her thighs and takes a deep breath, his eyes closing in obvious pleasure. "I smell how bad you want me, better than whiskey-that is," he says to himself or to her, she's not sure but she likes the sentiment nonetheless. He kisses the crease where thigh meets groin and along the rosy lips of her womanhood, settling at her clit. The noise he makes as he licks up her juices makes her wrap her legs around his neck just a bit tighter-her hands going to the thick ginger hair at the top of his head and pulling him closer where she wanted him most.

She moaned out loud, not for the first time that night, as his long thick fingers came into play. He slid his first two fingers into her arousal, slow and steady. He wastes no time picking up the pace, sucking on her and thrusting his fingers in, hooking them JUST SO so she's nearly shaking with how good it feels.

"Hurry up and make me cum so I can ride your cock leprechaun," Laura tries to growl at him, but doesn't sound nearly as stern as she'd hoped. Her words seem to have the desired effect though because he uses his free hand to move one of her legs away from her body, spreading her open for him even more.

She's panting and whining for him as he stretches her with a third finger, still curling them just right. She's wiggling against his mouth and hand with him helping lead the way when her climax takes over. His mouth is moving back and forth between her throbbing clit and her opening that's twitching around his fingers, licking up the cum he's dragged out of her with his talented tongue and fingers. She's whimpering and saying his name like it's the only word she remembers, saying it like a prayer. Once she's started coming down from her high and getting oversensitive she pulls him by his hair and he comes right up, following her lead all the way up to her lips.

Her legs wrap up and around his hips immediately. Laura digs her heels into the meat of his ass and pulls him closer, his hard cock settling between her inner lips like it was always meant to be there. His breath catches in his throat as her wet heat grips him. After her having cold skin for so long, the warmth of her was slightly overwhelming but he forced himself to stay focused. 

"I need inside ya," he groans against her mouth between kisses, sounding like he is near begging. His hips are moving on their own, sliding his rigid member between her literally dripping folds. "Can I love?" he asks as he lowers his head down to her heaving chest and pulls her taut nipple into his mouth for a taste. Her back arches, pushing her small breasts closer to him.

"Fuck yes-put it in Sweeney," she begs, though she'd never admit it. Her legs grip him and slide over his hips constantly, enjoying the feel of his bare skin against hers and urging him on. He pulls his hips back just enough so the tip of his arousal presses against her opening and then he plunges into her in one smooth deliberate thrust, burying himself to the hilt in her surprisingly welcoming body in one move.

Laura doesn't understand any of the words that come out of Sweeney's mouth as his cock bottoms out inside of her but she really likes the way he sounds as he's saying them. His voice sounds like whiskey on the rocks and she wants to drink him up. Her hips are moving against him, needy in a way she rarely allows herself to be. Her legs are already trembling from the first orgasm he'd given her but she can't get enough. He's licking at her mouth, sucking on her tongue when he can catch it and he's pushing into her slow and deep-barely pulling out before pressing back in and grinding his body against the bundle of nerves that makes her shiver. It's so good and it's perfect but it's not what she wants right now. Right now she wants to OWN him. 

She pushes back on his chest and sits up, he moves with her like he's reading her mind. She leads him onto his back and climbs on top of him. Laura straddles his thighs just below his cock and sits down in his lap. She holds his hardness in a two handed grip and strokes it slowly using her own juices and his precum as lube. His thick length reaches well past her navel and it makes her insides throb thinking about just how deep inside her he's been. Sweeney leans back against the headboard and watches as Laura's tiny hands move over his throbbing member, faster by the moment. 

She watches his eyes flutter closed as he grips the flimsy headboard HARD to try to control himself, his hips thrusting into her grip even as he tries to be still. She knows he wants to throw her down and fuck her, but she can also see how badly he wants to be good for her and give her what SHE wants. That just makes her want him even more, she doesn't think she's ever wanted someone more in her entire life. Sweeney is desperate to bury himself inside her again and when the beautiful woman in front of him lowers her head and rubs her beautiful kiss swollen lips against his cock he nearly loses it. 

"Oh fuck...yesss," he hisses in pleasure as her soft lips make contact with the flushed tip of his manhood. He'd rubbed more than one out thinking about her wide mouth and full pouty lips since he'd first started watching Laura Moon but it was certainly something else to see and feel that sexy mouth doing wonderful things to his already aching hardness.

It's not long before he's grasping at her hair with one massive hand and cradling her jaw with the other, not really pushing or pulling-just holding her in place as his hips rock gently up toward her, almost desperate with how badly he wanted it. He's making noises above her somewhere between grunts and groans and she wants to hear more of them so she allows him to keep at it for a while-she relaxes her jaw as much as she can and presses her tongue tightly against the underside of him as he slides in and out of her mouth. As much as she enjoys doing this for him, the position is sexy but awkward after a few minutes. After being dead for weeks she's not quite limber enough to pull it off for the amount of time necessary to get the final result they both want. 

She pulled off with a pop she may have been embarassed about at some point in her life but not anymore. She stands on the bed with trembling legs and positions his cock at her opening again. She doesn't waste any time sinking all the way down on him and resting there for just a moment to enjoy the fullness and the way he grasps her hips and ass, pulling her yet that little bit closer and pushing in that little bit deeper. 

After that it was a flurry of motion, both of them nearly drunk on their lust for one another. His strong hands helped her move against him but allowed her to control the pace and the depth with her hands anchored on the center of his strong chest.

"Fuck-the feel of you woman! I'm close," he groans, watching as she impaled herself on his length. His words make her insides grip him tighter, already trying to milk him dry. The grip he has on her ass tightens to a painful level and his hips start to stutter on each thrust in. She feels him getting impossibly harder and then he's growling and releasing inside her. It's the first time that she's felt someone orgasm inside her while she was actually alive and she finds she enjoys even more this time.

She sits all the way down on him, taking his shaft in to the very base as he starts to cum. She grinds against the base of him and grips his freckled chest with her nails as her own orgasm starts to take over. Laura can hear him hiss in both pleasure and pain as her orgasm starts and her nails dig in and draw blood.

"That's it Sweeney...cum with me...oh...OHHH," Laura moans, neighboring rooms completely forgotten. He sat up so they were chest to chest, his hands everywhere at once, moving from her hips-to her breasts-to her thighs-to her face like he just didn't know what he wanted to touch most. Her arms clung tight around his neck as they licked into each other's mouths and shared air. She'd had plenty of orgasms in her life but the one she was having with Sweeney now was something more...some kind of chemical reaction or maybe it had something to do with the leprechaun's magic-she didn't know. What she did know for sure was this climax lasted longer than the normal and their climaxes seemed to feed off of each other, flowing back and forth. Both of them were fully sated by the time they'd finished rutting against each other, dragging the pleasure out as long as possible.

The oversized ginger beneath her lets out a pained noise as she slowly moves up and slides his spent cock from the deepest parts of her. He tries to pull her back down on him but she gently slaps his hands away and flops down beside him, covered in sweat and their combined fluids and completely exhausted again. After a few moments of catching his breath Sweeney gets out of bed. Laura can hear him walking around the room but her eyes are closed and she's starting to fall asleep when she feels his hand on her thigh and then there's a warm rag wiping the mess off of her. He tosses the rag into the corner and scoops her up like he did when she originally came back from the dead only this time it's only for long enough to pull the blankets back and put her back gently. 

Sweeny climbs back in the bed beside the tired human and rolls himself a cigarette before lighting it up. Laura is already completely unconscious-not snoring but breathing heavy enough to be obvious. He watches her for a long time before laying down behind her and wrapping his arms around her small body and cradling her against him as he slides into an afternoon nap of his own.


	6. Bar Fights And Silent Films

Sweeney's not sure how long he's been sleeping but it's still light outside behind the closed curtains. The bed is empty beside him and he's not happy about that. He feels something that may be panic start to move up his spine and he sits up quickly, now that his brain has finally come online. He climbs out of the bed and looks around the room for his pants. Just as he's pulling them over his hips he hears the toilet flush. A moment later Laura Moon walks out of the bathroom, wiping her wet hands on the jean dress she's now wearing. 

"The owners are gonna be fucking pissed-we kept that shower running for like 5 hours. Seriously-what the fuck Sweeney? You literally went in there earlier and got a wet wipe to mop your cum off my thighs. It didn't occur to you that you may want to turn the shower off," she snaps when she spots him. Truth be told, she probably would have let him have it even if he'd been asleep in the bed when she came out of the bathroom but it's much simpler this way.

He is so relieved to see her, he forgets to be annoyed that he's getting bitched out before his eyes have even been open for 90 seconds. He's not even sure what he's getting cussed out about and she realizes this once she takes in his surprised expression and bedraggled hair. She feels a little bad for her overreaction but she knows he's used to it by now anyway, expects it even. Her eyes follow a path from his wild hair to his bare, freckled chest down to his pants which are still unbuttoned and sitting dangerously low on his hips. She can see the thatch of ginger curls peeking out above the open zipper. Her mind immediately goes back to what they were doing 5 hours ago and she feels blood flow to her cheeks-turning them red, she knows. 

"Well hello to you, too," he snarks at her after a moment. He'd noticed her blush immediately and then realized where her eyes were aimed. He knew it wouldn't take much for him to distract her from her anger if he put his mind to it. He looked her from top to bottom and back again, making sure he made a bit of a show about it. The possessive part of him-a big part, if he's honest-lights up at seeing her in something he gave her. It wasn't quite the same as her wearing his clothing but it still did something for him. She wasn't wearing the leggings and he feels his cock take interest when he wonders if she's wearing any of the panties...he hopes she's not.

"I'm not having sex with you again right now, so stop thinking about it," she says weakly as he starts moving toward her. He stops moving and cocks his head to the side, a bit birdlike.

"Well why the hell not love? I know you want me. I can see it on you and smell it on you," as if to prove his point he takes a deep breath, flavored with the sweet smell of her desire, no doubt. As if she wasn't already embarrassed enough, now she has to also worry about what exactly her brand of horney smells like.

"Can't be worse than smelling like roadkill," Laura thinks to herself and that actually takes a bit of the nerves away, "and he was fairly interested even then." She takes a few steps towards the man in the middle of the room and once she reaches him she gives him a playful shove. There once was a time where a push like that from her would have sent him through a wall but that time is past now and when she shoves him it accomplishes exactly nothing but he still flinches out of habit.

"I'm hungry," she announces by way of explanation, "Find me some food." She's smiling when she says it and when she looks at the leprechaun he looks nothing but fond, glad that she's actually hungry and alive and still there with him. 

"Of course, Your Majesty," he does an overdramatic bow and flourish toward the door, "Your carriage awaits." He's still buttoning his pants as they walk out the door and toward the piece of shit Ford they'd stolen a few states back. 

~~~~***~~~~ 

They'd found a bar with decent food a few miles down the road and decided that was as good a place as any. They'd both gotten a cheeseburger and fries. Of course, Sweeney got a Southern Comfort and Coke. Laura decided it had been too long since she'd felt the blissful relaxation of a good drink so she ordered one as well. They were both on their 2nd drink. Laura was more than a little buzzed and tired of watching ESPN highlights on the tv in the corner. Sweeney had his back to the bar, leaning against it and glaring out at the dozen or so patrons in various states of drunkeness. Something about the man just invited violence but there were no takers so far tonight. To be fair, Sweeney wasn't trying as hard as he usually did to start a confrontation. 

"I'm fucking bored. I feel like watching a fight," Laura said with a mischievous grin on her face, "You feel like picking one?" The look Sweeney gave her made her feel lit from the inside, his excitement contagious. 

"Abso-fucking-lutely," he replies, his eyes all but sparkling with mirth. His eyes are already locked on 'the cunt in the corner' as he'd so nicely dubbed the guy when they first walked in. She didn't know what it was about the guy's appearance that had annoyed Mad Sweeney from the moment he'd seen him, but whatever it was, Laura was glad to give him an excuse to burn some of the playful aggression that constantly built up inside of him-maybe even more now that he had his coin back.

It wasn't long before there was a full bar brawl going on and Laura was dragging the ginger giant out of the bar before the police showed up. The fight hadn't gone on long enough to do any real damage but 'it was all in good fun' as Sweeney'd said so he wasn't too disappointed he didn't get to crack any skulls. They decide to head back to the hotel room they've been calling home for the past 48 hours.

As soon as they are back in the room she takes off her jean dress. It turns out she was wearing panties. That's ALL she has on now as she climbs up into the bed and gets under the blankets. Sweeney moves to join her but she makes a noise at him that he knows means 'No'.

"What's wrong now lover," he asks her with only a little patience. The thought of her near naked under those blankets has his mind spinning with how badly he wants to join her.

"You're not getting in this bed with those dirty ass clothes on," she orders, all boss lady. Part of him wants to be disagreeable but sometimes it's better just to go along so everyone can be happy and that's just what he does. Before she can add anymore to her list of grievences he's stripping off his clothes and dropping them in a pile on the floor. She's looking at him like it's Christmas and he's the tree.

"See something you like," the cocky leprechaun smirks at her as he takes his place in bed beside her. He's not actually cold but she's almost naked under those blankets so he'll be damned if he isn't under those blankets as well. She rolls her eyes but smiles despite herself.

"Tell me Sweeney, how is it you're built like this and all I've ever seen you do is drink whiskey, smoke, talk shit, and start bar fights," Laura asks once they've gotten comfortable in the bed with her head on his chest again. She doesn't mention the muscles, they both know what he looks like but she refuses to boost his ego anymore than she already has tonight. Her hand is tracing the lines of his abdomen, her fingers moving in the dips of his muscles. She's genuinely curious and she feels him shrug underneath her cheek.

"Fucked if I know love. Just part of being a god, I reckon. When you had my coin I lost weight. Was hungry more often but couldn't really be bothered to eat so I really didn't. So long as I keep my coin it keeps me fit, I suppose," he explains, though it sounds more like a guess then actual facts. He's smoking one of his hand rolled cigarettes and flipping through the channels on the little TV in their room. 

"Holy shit," he says, mostly to himself as the screen lights up in shades of sephia and a musical score excitedly plays on the screen. When Laura looks at the TV she realizes he's stopped it on a very old silent film. "This is the first picture show I ever watched," he continues after a few moments, "That there's Buster Keaton, the funniest man to ever live, and a fuckin genius, at that. Even met him one time, was so fuckin drunk I can't hardly remember nothin about it though. " 

She watches the haunting figures move across the screen. This Keaton fellow's character has fallen asleep in a projector room in the film and his dream self rises out of his sleeping form and walks through a crowded theater and up to the large movie screen in the theater. He steps into the movie that is playing for the crowd. Suddenly the dream walker Keaton is bouncing from one movie scene to the next, first standing in a busy street-dodging cars, then tripping and realizing he is now standing on the edge of a steep cliff, then in a lion's cage-narrowly escaping becoming dinner...bouncing from one to the next using trick photography that had to have been cutting edge in it's time. Laura can't get over just how into the movie the man beside her is. As the film goes on she hears him laugh harder than she thought possible, and it happens more than once. 

The movie isn't necessarily her taste but the joy of seeing Sweeney enjoy the movie makes it more than worth the effort of watching it. As she watches the almost childlike glee on his face as Buster's car rolls into a river and becomes a sailboat, she imagines what it must have been like seeing it on the big screen almost 100 years ago and she finds herself in awe of the timeless creature laying in bed with her. Laura's mind starts to wander as she wonders, not for the first time, just how old he is and what all he's seen and experienced in his very long life. She feels her eyes getting heavy as the movie plays on for the two of them, despite her best efforts to the contrary. It's been a long couple days and the whiskey hadn't helped her stamina. Her last thought as she drifts off is "wish I could have been there when he saw this..."

"Unlike most things, it's only gotten better with age," Sweeney declares as the final title screen comes on. He looks down at the high spirited girl on his chest, hoping to sneak into her panties before bed but unfortunately he's too late. "That's fine, get your beauty rest love. I can wait til th' morrow," he says to the top of her head before placing a kiss on her crown and turning his attention back to the silent movie marathon happening on the TV screen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The movie mentioned is named Sherlock, Jr. You should definitely watch it and any of the old Buster Keaton films, preferably ones from early in his career when he had full control of his work. Anyway, hope yall liked this chapter. It was a little different but I wanted to give it a shot. Probably only one more chapter, maybe two depending on how it all flows.


	7. Into The Sunset

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So many things happen in this chapter, let me just say. It was supposed to be an all plot chapter, some romance thrown in- but these two just couldn’t keep their hands off of each other sooo...WARNING: explicit content sandwiched between some plot. Hope y’all enjoy.

Sweeney is either already awake or he never went to sleep. Laura realizes this as she wakes up to the feel of his fingers drawing those strange spirals along her ribs and back-the same ones from the day they brought her back to life, when she'd been sick and he'd comforted her. Sometime during the night she had rolled over and put her back to him. She can actually pay attention to the feel of his hands on her and the patterns he's drawing this time. The longer he does it, the more sure she is that they aren't random swirls and lines, he's writing on her but it doesn't feel like words she knows...she's not even sure they are words, but there's definite intent behind his movements. Laura doesn't know how long she lays there in the early morning light before the feeling of something like electricity building under her skin reaches a level she can no longer ignore. 

She rolls over to face him and his hand slides around her ribs, down to her too thin stomach. His fingers stop moving and rest in the grooves of her ribcage, cradling her like something fragile. The weeks of living-death have ravaged her already petite frame and she's uncomfortable with how easily you can see her bones. She quickly moves to pull the sheets up over her exposed body and Sweeney meets her eyes as she does it and smiles at her.

"We'll have you back to normal in no time love, don't worry about it," he says, reading her mind, "You have my word. You're the most beautiful woman in any room anyway." Within a moment his fingers are dancing over her skin again and her curiousity finally gets the better of her.

"What is that you're writing all over me when you do that? It's not the first time I've felt you do it," she asks softly, not wanting to ruin the moment but needing to change the topic. She couldn't stand being the center of such tenderness any longer, still unsure of what to do with it all. He wouldn't meet her eyes for a moment, debating how much of his truth he should give her. 

"It's an old blessing of the fae," his voice barely above a whisper, like it's one of the biggest secrets he has, "My blessing. I haven't had cause to share it with anyone in a very long time. Didn't even think I remembered it, but I can't seem to help myself- everytime I put my hands on you I start sharing the magic without even meaning to." She looks at the creature beside her and wonders how she ever thought he was a completely selfish bastard. They were both different people a few short weeks ago though. She knows they should probably start getting up but she's not ready to lose this moment and she wants to keep him talking for a little longer. 

Laura changes the subject before he has time to get defensive like he normally does once someone brings up fairies. "Where'd this come from," she asks as she brushes her fingertips lightly against a deep scar above his right eyebrow. He flinches away from the gentle touch, still unaccustom to loving hands being laid on him.

"From a fight-a battle...a long time ago I think," he said, brows drawn tight in concentration. He knows the memory is buried somewhere in his brain but he's unable to dig it up. He shakes his head in frustration.

"Come on Sweeney, a man like you is made of stories. Tell me one," she's tugging on his arm playfully as she says the words, not realizing just how true her words were. He was a man made of stories-all gods were, of course-but he'd had SO MANY stories over the centuries, and they were all so very different from one another...

Laura's words triggered a flood of voices and visions in his head. Sweeney covers his ears to try and muffle all the noise but it is useless because they are all already inside his own broken mind. He saw flashes from lifetimes lived and a few that had yet to come, though he couldn't tell the difference between the two. All the visions were stacked on top of one another like double exposed film- the people from yesterday in the settings of today and vice versa. The world swirls around him for a few minutes, maybe a few hours-he's never sure. Suddenly he manages to grab one of the distant memories as it flies past, only for a moment... 

"He was my grandfather, I think...a monster," the words come to him slowly and it feels strange, like the memory is barely his own, "He was my grandfather... but he wanted me dead-he wanted all of his grandchildren dead but I was the only one left. I killed him...my grandfather..?" It felt odd, the thought of family-blood relatives, but before he even had time to ponder the question the thought evaporated, just as suddenly as it had come to him. He tried to hold onto the memory but he knew it was no use. He shook his head and tried to focus back in on the present, focus on the beautiful woman beside him on the bed-stroking his face gently and cradling his head against her soft chest, trying to bring him back to NOW.

Laura felt like she should say something but she wasn't sure what to say. She knew he had a past and she knew a name like Mad Sweeney doesn't come without cause but up to this point she really hadn't experienced any of the 'madness'. 

"Fuck...I'm sorry about that love. How long was I out," he asks against her bare chest after long moments of silence-the two of them just soaking in each other's presence. She shrugs slightly, unsure of the answer herself.

"I don't know, maybe 5-10 minutes," she guesses. It had felt like forever while he was curled in on himself, gripping his head like he thought it may explode but she knows, realistically, it was probably only a few moments. 

"Oh that's not so bad," he admits quietly, "It's worse than that sometimes, a lot worse actually...but I can usually manage it." He doesn't want to worry her but he figures they're going to be spending a lot of time together from here on out so he may as well warn her. Sometimes the madness would leave him in peace for weeks-even months at a time, but then other times it was completely paralyzing. She's looking at him like she feels sorry for him and he just can't allow that. He sits up to his full height and looks down at her. His wits are back and he's thankful he hasn't spiralled too far down the rabbit hole of his half-forgotten memories and myths full of half-truths.

"Don't you fucking pity me Laura Moon--I was a king, once. I've lived so many lives you can't even imagine. I've had more than my share of pain and suffering--but there's been some fucking amazing moments too--many I can't remember... but I FEEL them... here," he pulls her tiny fragile hand to his bare chest, directly over his heart, "I may be mad but I don't need your pity-and I don't fuckin want it." She's taking in all of him- his face, his words, the way his hands are shaking as he holds hers against his chest, and the way his heart is pounding against her palm. She doesn't pity him, she doesn't even know if she's capable of that particular emotion. What she's feeling is jealousy that there's been a past life for him-several in fact-that she didn't get to be a part of and she's excited that they can have a future together if that's what they want. 

"Shut the fuck up," she tells him, as she hits him in the center of his chest...HARD. It doesn't do any damage of course, but it gets his attention and they both enjoy using violence like an exclamation point. His eyes are full of questions when he looks at her but she doesn't let him talk. "I don't pity you Sweeney. I love you," she almost chokes on her words. It wasn't the first time she's said that to him but it just feels so REAL this time. There's no sarcasm, no joke, nothing to hide behind-just truth, plain and simple. She watches his expression relax when he sees the honesty behind her words. 

"And I love you," he replies without missing a beat. Now that the truth was out between the two of them he had no problem acknowledging it out loud and she's more than a little jealous of how easy it is for him. Sweeney has spent enough time among mortals to know that time with them is precious and shouldn't be wasted on things left unsaid. He kisses her gently and she runs her fingers through his rust-colored hair, tugging lightly at the longer bits at the top and back of his head. He nibbles gently at her plumb bottom lip, making her moan into his mouth. His grip on her hips is close to bruising when he leans down to nuzzle his face into her cleavage. His beard tickles against her breasts and she giggles quietly, trying her hardest to muffle both the noise and her reaction. The leprechaun uses his huge hands to push her breasts up and closer together and rubs his beard against her intentionally, enjoying the way it makes her laugh out loud despite herself. He rains kisses over her breasts and collarbones before pulling her tight nipple into his mouth- morphing her giggles into a moan. She pulls him in even closer to her small mounds by his hair and he goes easily, shifting so that his large frame is over her, blocking out the whole world. She manages to wiggle enough to get her legs out from under him and wraps them around his waist loosely, cradling his lower body close to hers. She can feel him through the thin material of their underwear, hard for her already. When he feels her tender heat against his aching cock he groans against the breast in his mouth, desperate to feel more of it. She loves his mouth on her, sucking gently at the tip of her breast and using his teeth just enough to make her hiss each time she tugs at his hair. It isn't long before she's oversensitive but she allows him to continue just a little longer because she knows he loves it. To soon though, she is pulling him away by the back of his head, the sensation too much. 

"Stop that," she chastises, without any real heat. He snaps his teeth playfully at the finger that she's pointing at him as she scolds him. Laura just lightly pops his nose and then quickly kisses it. She can't believe how easy this feels. Everything in her life has always been so difficult, especially her love life. Sweeney looks down at her tits and sees that there's beard burn on them that will have her feeling sensitive for a couple days and that makes the rejection a little easier. 

His hips jerk against hers without his permission and he nearly whimpers at how good it feels. He buries his face against the spot where her shoulder meets her neck and takes a handful of deep breaths before he licks a long strip from her collar bone all the way up her cheek just to taste the arousal dripping out of her along with her sweat and they both groan. There is something animalistic in the act of him scenting and tasting her that has her nerve endings all firing at the same time, she's so turned on she can't even think straight. Laura could feel just how desperate the red head was for her. His hips were moving hard against hers like he was trying to push himself inside her even through their bottoms and between that and the mixture of his stuttering breaths and groans against her skin, he had Laura's insides throbbing with how badly she wanted part of him inside of her- she wasn't even picky about which part at the moment. He was everywhere, the only thing that existed to her in the moment- all she could see, hear, feel, or smell was him-overwhelming her senses.

"Take your boxers off," her tone was near begging, even if her words weren't, "Come on-get your dick out. I wanna see it-wanna see how hard I make you." As she groans the words against his mouth she's already reaching down to start the job herself, hands and legs working together to slide the garment far enough down his hips for his cock to be free of them. They both moan out when his now bare cock slides against the thin material of her panties. She has already leaked through them she's so wet for him, and he can feel it along with her scorching heat against him. She scoots up the bed just a couple inches and pushes him back just enough to make eye contact as she spreads her legs wide for him. She reaches down and pulls her panties to the side so he can get a good look at where she wants him. His brow furrows like he's in pain and she knows the fact is he's so hard it hurts when she sees his cock jerk like it's trying to cum without even being touched. His breath hitches in his throat and he licks his lips, his mouth practically watering with how badly he wants to taste her. 

Laura reaches between them and wraps one of her hands around his cock, sliding from root to tip and back again with a slow, almost too-tight grip. She figured with a dick as big as his, he was used to the feeling of having to squeeze into a tight spot. She must be doing something right because his hips snap up into her grip and he groans out something that must be a curse word but it definately wasn't an english one. His cock is leaking onto her hand, making her movements slick. She can see he's trying to hold his release off but she wants to see him lose control. She slows her movements down and tells him to look at her, which he does. 

"God...you're fucking throbbing," she's groans, keeping her hand at the head of his hardness where he's most sensitive and his body has started to tremble with the effort of holding back,"Fuck Sweeney I want you to cum...you gonna cum inside me? " She asks the question as she speeds up her movements, already knowing the answer but wanting to hear him say it.

"Fuck yes," he groans against her mouth, desperate with the promise of release so close,"Yes please...yes." Laura uses her hand to guide him between her thighs while keeping her panties pulled off to the side, slowly rubbing the tip of his arousal against her core. The noise he makes as she lifts her hips just enough so that he starts to slide into her sheath makes her legs wrap around his back and pull him all the way inside herself-slow and steady. He's panting against her neck, balanced on one shaking arm-his hand planted beside her head on the bed, his other hand is gripping her thigh-holding it high against his side, keeping her close and open for him. He's trying to stay quiet but groans and whimpers are sneaking out of him each time one of them moves at all. 

"Do it Sweeney...Hurry up, gimmie your fuckin cum," she whispers right into his ear, thrusting up against him to make her point clear. He growls against her neck, nearly feral now that he's inside of her. He doesn't waste a moment before he's pulling all but the head of himself out of her and shoving back in to the hilt. It's all a bit overwhelming but she loves feeling like she's his to use like this, loves having the power to make him lose control. He's pumping into her fast and hard. He's sat back on his haunches enough so that he can look down and watch where she's stretched around his thick girth. She follows his gaze and reaches her hand down between them, running her fingers around the spot they are connected. Sweeney stops breathing completely for a moment when her fingers touch them, grunting out a 'fuckin hell' as his hips stutter against hers. 

"So big...fill me up so good," she pants out, not even putting on a show anymore-just enjoying the ride. Laura starts rubbing her clit with one hand and grabbing her breasts with the other, knowing it wouldn't take long at all to drag Sweeney over the edge like this. He plows into her at a relentless pace, chasing his orgasm. It's not long before all his muscles are contracting and his cock is pulsing inside her so hard she can feel it. She coaxes him along, moaning in his ear how bad she wants it, wants him to let go inside of her and with a few more deep thrusts he's doing just that. He stills with his cock buried deep inside her, but his hips are still jerking against her's with each pulse of cum that erupts from him. He sounds more like an animal than a man as he releases inside her, growling deep in his chest while he grips her tight enough to hurt. Laura feels like she is burning up from the inside she's so close to her own orgasm. Once his hips stop moving she lets her legs flop open. She's whining when her small hands start pushing down on his shoulders, leading him where she wants him.

"Put your mouth on me...fucking make me cum," she begs as she hooks one of her legs over his shoulder. His pupils are blown so wide with arousal there's hardly anything in his eyes but black when he looks up at her. He's sliding down her body like he's a starving man and she's his dinner-leaving kisses and love bites along the way. When his mouth finally meets her womanhood she hisses in a breath, it's so good. He slides two of his long fingers back inside her, shoving his essence in deeper and hooking his fingers just right. Laura starts grinding up against his mouth and hand, taking her pleasure. He moans against her pussy and she feels the vibrations from it all the way in her center. Within moments her insides are clutching his fingers and her thighs are shaking on either side of his head as he licks and sucks her through her orgasm. 

Laura shoves him back with her foot on his shoulder once it gets to be too much. He pats her on the thigh as he climbs out of bed and heads to the bathroom. She hears the water running and figures he's washing their combined cum out of his beard, which makes her laugh to herself. When he comes back his face is still dripping as he goes to wipe her still spread thighs with a warm wet rag but she takes it from him, reminding him that she's not helpless. He rolls his eyes but doesn't argue. By the time she's finished wiping herself he has already flopped back in the bed. Laura tosses the washcloth into the corner somewhere and curls back up with her man, and that's what he is now...HER man. 

"So what's the next move," she asks the question that keeps popping into her brain. She wants to ignore it and stay in this little room forever but she knows that they can't. There's a whole world out there and neither one of them is the type that can settle down for too long. He doesn't reply immediately, instead pondering it out. 

"Well, we can't stay here...that's for sure," he says, thoughtful, "I guess we just hit the fuckin road, don't we? Anywhere you want to go? A place you've always wanted to see?" She considers his words, but the possibilties feel too endless. 

"I want to watch the sunset over an ocean," she blurts out without even meaning to, "They say the sunsets in California are beautiful. Think we can get there before the sun goes down," she asks. He looks at the curtain and considers what time it must be. 

"We can sure as hell try," he says, sitting up and getting himself out of the bed in record time. He's always struggled with staying in one place too long and now that the decision is made, the road is calling to him. She stretchs her limbs and rolls around a bit. She wants to get motivated but it is going to be hard leaving this little room they've made their own, even if it's only to start a NEW adventure. 

Once Sweeney has his own clothes on, he sets his sights on the woman taking up a surprisingly large amout of space on the bed. He grasps her thin ankle and carefully drags her toward the foot of the bed. She kicks back at him playfully, not aiming to hurt...squealing and laughing the whole time. 

"Come on woman-get your beautiful LAZY arse outta bed. We'll never beat the sun at this rate," Sweeney urges her on-finally with some success. She allows herself to be pulled the rest of the way to the edge and uses Sweeney's body to pull herself to her feet.

"Okay OKAY-I'm up. Where are my fucking clothes," she asks as her eyes sweep around the room. She finds them on the floor where they'd dropped the night before. Laura gives her dress a firm shake before pulling it back on and buttoning the top few buttons that were required for her to pull it off and on her tiny frame. Sweeney is sitting on the edge of the bed pulling his boots on but she feels his gaze on her the whole time she's getting dressed.

Her gaze meets his as she sits down to put her own boots on and he actually looks a little bit sheepish at being caught staring. She winks at him and then sticks her tongue out. He laughs out loud, thankful to not be called out. They both finish up their dressing and she heads into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. She takes a few minutes to wash her face and brush her teeth and then stares at herself in the mirror for a long moment. She barely recognizes the woman she is now, the woman she is trying to become. She still has all of the same faults and weaknesses, but she's learning to accept them for what they are. Mad Sweeney is teaching her that by just being himself. She realizes he is so much more than his many faults and so is she.

Laura quickly gathers up her few possessions and brings them out into the room. She sees that Sweeney has already taken all of their things to the car, along with the hotel blankets and pillows. She knows she should tell him not to but her heart lights up at the thought of those being THEIRS and nobody else getting to use them. Something tells her that Sweeney is probably thinking the same thing- he seems like the sentimental type, now that she knows him. 

"You're so fuckin beautiful standing there with the sun on your face, wind in your hair- and ya don't even know it," he calls from across the parking lot, "Now, get in the fuckin car, will ya? We're losing daylight." He's leaning across the top of the car with his arms beckoning her to come along. She rolls her eyes and stomps across the parking lot with her arms crossing in front of her, more for show than because she was actually annoyed.

"Don't fuckin rush me, Fire Crotch," she jabs as she climbs into the passenger seat. He laughs at her as he settles into the driver's side and stretches his long limbs out. She'd expected him to at least act offended by the name but he's still grinning at her as he reaches across the seat and brushes his hand down the side of her face so lightly she barely feels it.

"Oh darlin, don't act like you had any issue with my 'fire crotch' just a while ago when you were---" Laura covers his mouth with both her hands before he can finish his sentence. "Okay okay, first of all...shut your filthy fucking mouth. And secondly...I'll keep the nicknames above the belt-that's fair," she cuts him off, red flooding her cheeks. The leprechaun was still getting his chuckles when he pulled the car onto the highway and headed west. 

~~~***~~~

"So do you think we are going to make it in time," she asks after they've been on the road a few hours. She's flipping stations on the cars outdated radio. No matter what station she stops on a good song is playing so she doesn't know where to leave the dial, a problem she has never had in her entire life. It was already after noon and Sweeney had figured it would take them about 7-10 hours to get where they were headed, depending on how smoothly the trip went. 

Originally she was figuring it'd be closer toward the 15 hour mark, judging by their previous journeys together. She hadn't ever experienced traveling with Sweeney-luck intact. So far it had went surprisingly smooth, they'd even somehow managed to get a free tank of gas and breakfast at the last station they'd stopped at-something about being the 5,000 customers. To be honest, she was pretty impressed and it was good to see a real smile on Sweeney's handsome face. He hadn't been nearly as impressed by the free gas as she'd been, but he'd convinced her that the rest of the trip was going to go just as pleasantly. 

"Oh I'm sure of it, love. I'm feelin lucky," he winks at her from across the car and reaches over the seat to squeeze her knee. He keeps his hand there and she feels that warmth in her chest again. She smiles without meaning to and without even thinking about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Working on one more chapter after this one but this is basically the conclusion. The next chapter is a bonus chapter, for the most part...basically just bonus porn if I'm being honest lol.
> 
> For the record, I edit all my own stuff and after reading over this a half dozen times and changing something each time I forced myself to post it. It there are any errors I apologize and if it’s something distracting you notice please let me know so I can fix it.


	8. Best View in the House

She watches Sweeney as they go down the highway. They are mostly in the middle of nowhere, with the occassional gas station or small town..it's beautiful though. The sun is streaming in through the open windows and he seems to reflect the light and soak it in at the same time. He's smoking one of his cigarettes and he looks damn good while he's doing it. She considers taking a hit just so she can get a taste of him. She wants to taste something more than his smoke but she also knows it's the only safe thing she can do, considering they are in a moving vehicle and her history with car sex is spotty -at best. The small woman reaches across the car and snags the cigarette from his mouth, without any fight from him. He looks surprised but not bothered as he turns his attention back to the road before any rabbits or random ice cream trucks can get in the way. 

Laura pulls on the cigarette a little too hard at first and starts to cough. Sweeney rolls his eyes and snorts out a laugh, saying something about 'over eager' under his breath which she chooses to ignore. On her second hit she takes her time, barely inhaling-more just tasting the smoke. She looks back at Sweeney and his eyes are on her as she lets the smoke slowly crawl its way out of her mouth. He makes a noise something like a grunt and turns his attention back to the road but she can see his nostrils flare and his breathing speed up a bit, she's pretty sure if she reached across the car and grabbed at his lap she'd find he was getting hard. She's nowhere near brave enough to do that though, even if Sweeney was lucky again. She sits with her back against the (locked) passenger door and faces him as he drives, looking out his window and enjoying his profile, occassionally puffing on his cigarette. She savors the weight of his eyes when they cut over to her and slide down her body, lingering on her slight cleavage and the spread of her thighs before moving back to the highway. 

She's realizing now that it doesn't take much to get Sweeney going when she wants it, like he's attuned to her body. She suddenly remembers what he said about 'smelling it on her' and her cheeks go red all over again. Laura doesn't think she's blushed this much since she was in junior high but she knows what she wants, even if she only had it a couple hours ago.

Out of the corner of Sweeney's eye he sees the petite woman beside him lifting herself up off the seat and shuffling her panties down off her legs, the movement unmistakable. He groaned loud enough for her to hear him over the music that was playing on the radio.

"What tha fuck are ya over there doing love? Do you want me to wreck and kill the both of us," he asked with a slightly pained expression on his face, "How is a man supposed to pay attention to the road knowin what you are doin over there?"

"Pull over the car," she orders, a little too loud for the amount of space in the car. He already knew how badly she wanted him, she may as well take it. She knows he's looking for someplace with a little bit of cover, even though they've only seen a handful of cars all day. A few minutes pass before he pulls the car onto a forgotten side road that is barely worthy of the name. 

Now that they were off the main road and were moving at a much slower speed her arousal overtook her nerves and she found herself reaching across the seat and sliding her hand along the inseam of Sweeney's trousers. They only drive a few more minutes when he puts the car in park beside a small grove of trees at the back of an overgrown field. She's already gotten the fly of his pants open and has pulled out the length of him. She'd enjoyed the chance to tease him while he'd tried to pay attention to the path ahead of them. 

Always good with his hands, Sweeney simultaneously slides the seat back as far as it would go and pops the steering wheel up, as far out of the way as possible. He's barely finished making room before she's lifting herself up and across the seat to climb in his lap. Sweeney is holding his cock steady in one hand and his other reaches around and cups her ass, using it for leverage to guide her down onto him. He pulls her down more firmly into his lap, grinding up into her at the same time making her breath catch in her throat at the pressure against her core. 

Laura grips his hair with both hands and pulls his mouth to hers. They are almost the same height in this position so it's easy for their lips to meet and she takes full advantage. She bites at his bottom lip and then slides her tongue into his mouth when his lips open on a hiss. He meets her half way and before she knows it his hands are in her hair too, holding her to him with no effort at all. They are licking into each other's mouths, still learning the taste of each other. 

"You'll be the death of me woman," he pants against her mouth as she pulls back to gasp a quick breath, "I'll never have enough of ya." From the position they are in she has control over how deeply he's penetrating her. She likes the way he gasps and grabs at her when she lifts herself almost all the way off of him-as if he thinks she would abandon him like this-so she does it a few times. It burns the weak muscles in her thighs like hell but it's worth it for the way he's looking at her, his eyes bouncing back and forth between her face and the place where they are joined. 

She can only keep up the movement for a short time before her legs give out and she's forced to settle back in his lap, taking him as deeply inside herself as possible. Sweeney uses his grip on her to do most of the work so that she wouldn't have to, after that. She grips the back of his neck with both hands and uses the leverage to move against him , move with him. She was already so worked up when they started that she knew she wasn't going to last long but she knew he wouldn't either if she didn't want him to. Their pace grew faster and more desperate with each thrust.

"Ya feel so fuckin good love," he groans against her throat when her thighs and her womanhood began to quiver as she closed in on her climax. His hands left her hips. He wrapps one of his arms tightly around her waist, holding them nearly chest to chest. The other hand, he wraps around her back and cups the back of her head gently-threading his fingers through her hair. He barely lifts her off of his legth before pushing back in. 

"Yes-there, right fucking there,"Laura groans as her nails begin to dig trenches into the freckled skin at the back of his neck and she grinds herself down at his base, using him to put pressure against that bundle of nerves that has her toes curling, "Sweeney-ohh..." As the first wave of her orgasm takes her she drops her head forward so that their foreheads are leaning against each other. They are so close she can barely look at him without her eyes crossing but he is staring straight at her and she can't look away. She tightens down on his cock without even meaning too, her insides clenching around him and long before her own orgasm has finished, his begins. He growls words of ancient Gaelic into her ear as he releases deep inside of her. 

Once they are finished she rests her head on his shoulder, keeping him inside of her for the time being. His fingers have already started moving in their now familiar spirals against the bare skin at the back of her neck and on her thigh where his hands held her close. She clenches down on him one last time and can't help herself as she nuzzles against his neck and inhales one long deep breath, soaking in the smell of forests and rain. He thrusts up against her at the pressure, making her hiss and nip down on his neck. He grips her tight one more time before gently tapping her thigh.

"As much as I'd love it if ya stayed perched up there all evening my love, we've still got places to go last I checked," he gently coaxes her, "That is-unless you've changed your mind about that sunset and want to go for another round." Despite how badly Laura wants to stay right where she is, or maybe find some way to curl up in the back seat together and take a nap she gathers her strenghth and moves to climb off of him. He whimpers as they disconnect but he keeps most of her weight supported in his hands as she moves across the seat. He manages to still look charming-albeit a bit sleazy-as he tucks himself back into his trousers, skin nearly glowing with sweat and the light of the sun as it fills the car with it's golden light. She feels like all the muscles in her body have went on vacation as she struggles to pull her underwear back up her legs. 

Laura has gotten herself settled back in on her side of the seat when she realizes the distinct disadvantage of having sex in a car. She also realizes she has gotten used to Sweeney taking care of the clean up once she feels evidence of their activity making a hot mess of her underwear. It makes her feel dirty but also kinda turns her on, something she isn't going to put too much thought into.

"Still think we'll make it before the sun goes down," she asks over a yawn that has forced itself out of her mouth, "We just lost about 30 minutes." He chuckles around the cigarette he's just lit and looks over at her.

"Oh we'll make it love. I know you're sleepy, just close those pretty brown eyes and I'll wake you up when we get there. I know I wore you out," he's smiling at her-eyes crinkling at the corners, "I gotta take a piss." He's already opening the door and climbing through it before the words make it out of his mouth all the way. 

"Shut up Smartass," she snaps, never one to admit defeat and definitely never one to let Sweeney's ego get too big, "I'm not even tired." She hears him make his way around the back of the car and disappear behind a tree. She's thinking that maybe she should rest her eyes for a minute while he is gone....and then she doesn't think anything in particular for a few hours because she's already deep in restful sleep when Sweeney gets back in the car. It would almost be worth it to wake her up and say 'I told you so' but he just can't bring himself to do it. He starts the car and heads back onto the highway.

"Beautiful fuckin day, this is," the former king says to no one in particular as he grabs another of his handrolled cigarettes from the hoard and lights it up, turning the radio up a couple clicks and singing quietly along with the song that fills the car. He looks over at the firecracker of a woman curled against the door on the passenger side of the car and can't keep the smile from his face, "Fuckin beautiful."

~~~~****~~~~****~~~~

"Stop staring at me, fuckin creeper-we just drove a thousand miles for this million dollar view in front of us," Laura snarks at him, though her eyes never leave the inferno of colors covering the horizon. The red head spares a glance at the admittedly beautiful sight but his eyes quickly make their way back to the woman at his side. She had been surprised that he'd managed to get them where they needed to be on time, but pleasantly so. It was worth all the trouble and the stiff muscles and joints for him to see the look of awe on her face as the deep oranges and reds took over the sky and reflected off the surface of the water. 

"Aye-it is a million dollar view, but I've seen a thousand sunsets, fuck-a hundred thousand or maybe more than that...but I've never seen you watchin one,"he leans down and says it quietly into her ear, just for her- even though there is no one else around, "And I'll wager I've the better view." When she looks over at the man beside her the breath catches in her throat. The fiery colors of the sunset are reflected in his face and hair and she can fully believe that he once had worshippers, that he was once a king. Before she can say something that she will regret she looks back at the sun as it starts to drop below the ocean. Sweeney steps behind her and wraps his arms around her middle, pulling her back to rest against his solid chest and she goes without any fight at all. She leans her head back and reaches up to hold his large hands in her much smaller ones. They both just breath each other in and let the moment sink into their memories.

Once the sun has sank fully below the waves she turns around in his arms and stands on tip toes to nuzzle against his neck and pull in another whiff of his woodsy aroma. Sweeney naturally leaned down and kisses her cheek gently, rubbing his face against her neck and pulling in a draft of her sweet lavendar and honey scent-leaving even more kisses in his wake.

"Ready to get out of here little one," he asks against her skin, his breath caressing her like an actual touch, "We'll find somewhere to rest for the night and then tomorrow...who knows... We'll do whatever the fuck we want." It sounds like the best plan she has ever heard. Laura nods her head and slinks out of his grip playfully, heading toward the car and looking back at him after every couple steps. She wasn't surprised to see he was right behind her the whole way. 

"Sounds good Ginger, but I'm driving," she sticks out her tongue as she climbs in the driver's seat, "Now hurry up and get your big ass in the car." He's in too good a mood to be mad about riding shot gun so he just tosses the keys to the woman in charge as he slides the seat back and gets in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The beginning of this chapter came to me soo easily but the last half was super hard for me to get through for some reason. Anyway, I fought through it and I hope that this last chapter does the rest of this story justice. It's been a joy to write and I want to thank everyone that has read this one more time. Thanks guys!!!


	9. At the Movies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a short and sweet addition (basically a BONUS chapter). I got inspired and had to jot it down. Hope I don’t regret it later lol.

The two of them are standing in front of a dilapidated old movie theater. It’s still functional but it usually only plays movies that are two weeks away from leaving the major theaters and even then it’s always for the price of a matinee and everyone knows not to buy the popcorn(or touch the floor if you can help it). He has no idea how many strings she had to pull, how many ‘favors’ the two of them now owe friends of friends of people she barely knows so that this can be happening right now...and she’s not going to tell him. 

He’s talking shit like he always does. He’s asking her why she’s dragged him to the shittiest building in town, asking if they are going to watch a Grind House film, whatever the fuck that means. With the way he says it and the devilish twinkle in his eye she has to assume that it means porn or something equally distasteful (going by normal standards of course-they both know she barely has any standards at all).

The two of them get inside without any trouble. She’s managed to rent out the whole space for 90 mins for a couple hundred bucks and a pretty smile. The middle aged guy that owned the place had gotten it when his mother died and was clearly almost over the whole headache of keeping the place open. He jumped at the chance to make a couple hundred in cash that quick and didn’t give her a hard time about what she wanted him to put on the projector. 

Sweeney cut his eyes down at her and had a strange look she couldn’t quite place on his face. “What the fuck are we doin here Laura,” he finally asks as she leads him by the hand to the seats right in the middle of the auditorium. The room is clearly worse for wear and deteriorating from the inside out but it doesn’t take much imagination to see what it USED to be, something GLORIOUS (much like the man beside her-which she refuses to think very much about). Huge plaster pillars ran along either side of the room, chipped and flaking badly, there were clearly forms carved along the pillars-though the years had faded them away. 

“Okay-well I did a thing. I don’t really want to talk about it so just shut up and watch the movie,” she said as nicely as she could manage. The two of them had been cohabitating on the west coast for almost a year now but she still couldn’t fully admit her feelings for the man...the god beside her. They had said their ‘I love you’s but when it came to big things like this-things that really bare the heart of you-she always struggled, always tripped and stumbled and nearly fell but the giant ginger beside her always seemed to catch her. He always knew what she meant, no matter what she actually said. 

“Okay-fine. Let’s see what your conniving mind has manifested little Laura McCabe,” he says with just a little bit of wonder in his voice as he sits down in one of the ancient chairs and leans back, stretching out and taking up as much space as (in)humanly possible. Laura sits down right beside him and tucks herself up under the arm he has spread out across the back of her chair. He immediately wraps it around her as tightly as she ever stands for (but not quite as tightly as he would like to). The two of them sit in silence for just a handful of seconds before the barely there lighting fades the rest of the way out as the screen lights up. Laura quickly pulls out a portable CD player holding the cd she burned at the public library specifically for this occasion and a pair of earbuds. Sweeney had insisted HARD that she ditch her phone ages ago and wouldn’t even let her have an iPod because of the new gods so she had had to take it back a little bit. If she was honest she had kinda enjoyed the effort. 

She handed one of the earbuds to her favorite red head and puts one in her opposite ear. She fully expects him to give her a hard time but to her surprise he just tucks the earbud into his ear and keeps his mouth shut. He has learned over the year to take her sweet gestures for what they are and don’t question them (even when they seem strange). 

Just as the first pictures flicker on the screen in rich sephia tones Laura presses play and orchestra music begins to play. The words Sherlock, Jr come on the screen and Sweeney’s eyes lock on hers and for the second time today she has no idea what he is thinking. The look only lasts for a moment and then he is looking back at the screen, the childlike joy on his face she remembered from the hotel room over a year ago clear as day.

The theater had been easy to arrange-finding a copy of a classic silent film that was available for a single private showing was not, even after you had met a considerable number of people on the west coast and had luck on your side. Thankfully (and she assumed that it was Sweeney she should thank even though he hadn’t been there at the time, but his luck probably had been) she had found the right people that knew the right people and it had all worked out. 

The film only lasted for about a hour but it was a hour she will never forget. She had seen the movie once already but that time she had been exhausted and too transfixed on the man beside her to really appreciate it but this time she watches right along with him. She finds herself laughing right along with him. Midway through Sweeney reaches over and takes her hand, holding it close to him for the rest of the movie. When the film comes to a close and the lights come back on he pulls her tiny hand to his lips and kisses her palm before he lets it go. 

“I know you don’t want to talk about it...but thank you for this,” he says, voice just a bit thicker than it usually is. If you didn’t know the man as well as she now does, you may miss the glittering at the corner of his eye. She stands on tiptoe and kisses his chin(she can’t quite reach his cheek without his help but neither of them mention that) before they walk back out into the evening sunshine and start walking down the sidewalk back toward the hotel room they are currently calling home.

**Author's Note:**

> I love these characters dearly and I really hope I did them justice. I really wish I would have gotten up the nerve to write for this fandom earlier on but oh well. Kudos and comments are GREATLY APPRECIATED.


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